Swansea University

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Overview

Based on the south-west coast of Wales, Swansea University is among the top 15 institutions in the UK for graduate employability (The Times and Sunday Times Good University League Table, 2018), and number one in Wales – with 81.4% of students in professional employment within six months of graduating.

Swansea is a research-led university that prides itself on tackling real world problems, such as infectious diseases and water filtration for third world countries. Swansea was rated among the top 30 research universities in the UK by the Research Excellence Framework, rising from 52nd position in the 2008 rankings to 26th in 2014.

The University has been awarded the prestigious title of Welsh University of the Year in the 2017 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, within which is was highly commended for the work of its Employability Academy – which links talented students to graduate recruiters to give them the best chance of getting a job after their degree.

Among the top 200 universities in the world for international students (QS Stars, 2017) the city of Swansea was also ranked in the top 10 most safe places to study in the UK by the Complete University Guide 2017.

Teaching quality is of a very high standard at Swansea University. In fact, QS World University Rankings 2017 awarded the institution 5-stars for teaching excellence – the highest ranking achievable.

Swansea University provides a unique study abroad experience for international students. It is the closest university to a beach in the whole world, but is also just 2 miles from the city centre of Swansea and its many restaurants, cafes, museums and other cultural delights.

What's new

Swansea University is working on a student precinct that includes a new GBP30m state-of-the-art student activity centre at its Singleton Park Campus.

Professor Richard B Davies, Vice-Chancellor of Swansea University, commenting on the event, said, “The Student Precinct and the new 8,250m² Student Activity Centre will be at the core of student campus life at Singleton Park and will modernise the University estate, protecting and enhancing Swansea University’s history and heritage, and investing to ensure that our students in the future will continue to benefit from high quality facilities.”

This is the latest addition to the University’s 10-year campus development programme that aims to build world-class facilities and an excellent student environment. The project recently saw the completion of 543 en-suite student rooms at the Bay campus. This is part of a massive student residence development plan, a large part of which is already complete.

Phase 2 Bay campus developments as part of the project include the Computational Foundry and student residences. Singleton Campus construction involves a Chemistry department, developing the A Regional Collaboration for Health (ARCH) and the addition of Natural Resources Wales.

The development of the GBP450 million Bay Campus has had a huge regional impact in terms of employment and student growth.

Swansea University achieves a “Gold rating” for learning and teaching

Swansea University has achieved the highest rating possible in the national Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) making it one of the top universities in the UK.

The TEF panel emphasised the consistently outstanding outcomes for students from different backgrounds at Swansea, and the personalised high-quality support for student learning.

Teaching quality

TEF experts have judged that Swansea University delivers excellent teaching, learning and outcomes for its students.

The TEF Panel awarded the rating based on the following indicators:

Students from diverse backgrounds achieve outstanding results.

Full-time students are very satisfied with teaching, academic support, assessment and feedback.

Course design is highly flexible and includes working with industry partners in course development and review.

The University’s tutorial system offers personalised learning which is embedded across the University. The system includes a specialised centre and attendance monitoring, ensuring higher levels of student engagement and commitment to learning.

The University constantly recognises and rewards excellent teaching offering scope for professional development. Peer observation, a teaching and scholarship promotion route and awards for excellence in learning and teaching are other incentives for improving teaching quality.

A high percentage of students from all backgrounds continue studies or find employment, achieving notable standards in either pursuit.

Swansea University is one of seven Welsh Universities that have applied for the Year Two TEF awards along with 299 UK universities, colleges and alternative providers.

Department structure

The College of Arts and Humanities: Some of the study options this College offers are American Studies, English Literature and Creative Writing, Applied Linguistics, English Language and TESOL and History.

The School of Management: The School of Management at Swansea University is one of the UK’s well-known institutions for management, finance and economic research and education.

Hillary Rodham School of Law & Criminology: Ranked top 250 in QS World University Rankings, the Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law at Swansea University is one of the UK’s leading providers of legal education.

The College of Engineering: Swansea’s College of Engineering offers a variety of options, including Civil, Aerospace, Electrical, Medical and Mechanical Engineering. Sport and Exercise Science is also offered as part of this discipline.

The College of Human and Health Sciences: The courses that the College of Human and Health Sciences offer fall into the fields of Health, Nursing, Midwifery, Social Care, Social Policy and Psychology. Swansea is the largest health care education provider in Wales.

Swansea University Medical School: The Medical School is a Top 3 UK medical school. A range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses are available to students, and the school ranks 1st in the UK for research environment, and 2nd for overall research quality.

The College of Science: Biosciences, Chemistry, Computer Science, Geography, Mathematics and Physics are the study options this College offers. The College’s computational foundry will support research in the computational and mathematical sciences and is expected to act as a global destination for research on completion.

In addition to the regular course offerings, there are also English language programmes for international students.

Entry requirements

Swansea University has country and course specific entry requirements. Requirements can also vary based on the applicant’s previous subject of study. Applicants with qualifications above the stated requirements might be eligible for second year entry.

English language requirements

Undergraduate: Most academic departments require an IELTS score of 6.0 (or equivalent) but there are exceptions.

Postgraduate: Most academic departments ask for an IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent) but there are exceptions.

Specific English requirements are listed on each course page under the entry requirements section.

If English scores do not exactly meet requirements, applicants could still be accepted upon completion of the English language pre-sessional programme at Swansea’s English Language Training Services (ELTS).

If the applicant does not hold a Secure English Language Test score, or if they are not a national of a majority English speaking country, they should expect to undertake a short test of English at enrolment. This is done to assess whether the student might benefit from additional free English Language support.

Applicants with a recognised foundation programme from their country or the UK e.g. INTO, WISC,

NCUK) may be eligible for entry on to the first year of a degree at Swansea University. Swansea also offers a foundation programme for applicants who do not meet minimum entry requirements. Nationals of certain countries do not need to provide any English language qualification. Visit the website for more information.

Facilities

Swansea University offers excellent research and accommodation facilities.

Swansea takes pride in offering world-class research facilities for its postgraduate student body. The research centres and institutes cover a wide range of interests.

Accommodation is guaranteed for all first-year students, and they can expect a reasonable deal as Swansea have the second cheapest accommodation in the UK. It offers a variety of accommodation depending on budgets and individual student requirements. Students can choose from on-campus or private residences and the Swansea residential services team is ready to help whenever needed.

Bay Campus Residences

Beck House Residences

‌‌Offers a mix of standard rooms, en-suite rooms, couple and family accommodation.

Available for postgraduate, medics and PhD students.

Hendrefoelan Student Village Residences

Has standard rooms with shared kitchen.

Available for first years, medical and postgraduate students.

Sports

For a university that has a reputation for research, Swansea is equally committed to encourage sports at all levels. The University's Sports Village complex caters to students with different interests and includes some impressive facilities.

Scholarships & funding

Swansea University offers up to GBP1.5 million worth of scholarships for international students. The International Development Office is awarding up to GBP6,000 Excellence Scholarships for undergraduate study and up to GBP4,000 for postgraduate study.

Postgraduate and Undergraduate Scholarships: Students can apply for the International Merit and International Excellence scholarships. Scholarships on offer will result in a discount in tuition fees and cannot be used in place of a deposit.

Eira Davies Scholarship: Female students who are residents of select developing countries and are admitted to master’s postgraduate courses within the College of Human and Health Sciences can apply for the scholarship. This is a full tuition fee scholarship, and students demonstrating academic excellence and evidence of financial need are eligible to apply.

Fulbright Scholarship: The Fulbright Commission has recognised Swansea University as a centre of excellence in the UK. Swansea offers a tuition fee waiver for incoming American Fulbright scholars applying for a one year master’s course in any subject.

Chevening Scholarships: Swansea University is proud to be a partner University of the Chevening Scholarship Commission and welcomes a number of Chevening Scholarship holders to the University each year.

GREAT Scholarships: Swansea University is offering scholarships to Chinese students enrolled in postgraduate courses in various subjects. The University is partnering with the British Council and the GREAT Britain campaign to offer scholarships to Chinese students with a value of nearly 1 million British pounds.

The Mak Family Scholarship: One scholarship is available to help new postgraduate Hong Kong students with their tuition fees. The recipient has to demonstrate a high standard of academic performance.

Several federal and private student loans are also available to US and Canadian applicants. More details…